As the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) escalates its bloody campaign of mass deportation and terror across the country, the number of detainees who have died in its custody has surged.
The case of Geraldo Lunas Campos is a striking example of this escalation. Campos was a 55-year-old Cuban man who was murdered in federal custody on January 3rd at the Camp East Montana detention facility located on Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) claimed that Campos committed suicide, but a witness recounted that at least 5 guards handcuffed Campos, pinned him to the ground, and violently strangled him to death. On January 21st, the El Paso Medical Examiner’s office ruled Campos’ death to be a homicide, listing the cause of death as “asphyxia due to neck and torso compression,” corroborating the witness account of the murder.
DHS is attempting to undermine any investigation by trying to deport two detainees who witnessed the guards murder Campos. A judge has already blocked this attempt.
Campos is one of six detainees who have died in ICE custody since the beginning of January.
According to monopoly media outlet The Guardian, 2025 was the deadliest year for ICE detainees since 2004, with at least 32 detainees murdered. ICE denies any responsibility.
Detainees at ICE torture centers suffer from a lack of running water, unsuitably cold or hot temperatures, beatings, sexual harassment and assault committed by guards, medical neglect, and other forms of psychological and physical torture. A report by Amnesty International describes conditions and treatment resembling US torture sites Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib, with migrant detainees at “Alligator Alcatraz” in Florida shackled in cages outdoors, exposed to the sun and mosquitoes while being denied food and water.
Prisoners have rebelled against their torture, going on hunger strike for weeks and even breaking down prison walls and escaping.
The US government has nearly tripled ICE’s 2025 budget, bringing its annual budget to around $30 billion.
Image: Camp East Montana detention facility located on Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. Retrieved from ICE.
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